UCP woes

Alberta’s ruling United Conservative Party is in big trouble. It was formed following the election win of the New Democratic Party in 2015 leading to four years of conservative detested government by Rachel Notley.

Conservatives from a broad spectrum of beliefs and opinions managed to hold their noses and form a political party, under the leadership of the present Premier Jason Kenney, for the sole purpose of removing the left slanting Notley from power.

During the pandemic, deep rifts developed within the UCP, based on previous differences in outlook by supporters of the two forming parties, the Wild Rose Party and the Progressive Conservative Party that had been in power for some 40 years prior to 2015.

A former leader of the Wild Rose Party, Danielle Smith, is now the front runner in a UCP leadership contest to replace Kenney as Premier of the province and has promised to bring in an “Alberta Sovereignty Act” as soon as she is proclaimed Premier.

This would empower the Alberta Legislature to say “nay” to federal legislation imposing Ottawa’s will on the province, in the same way that Quebec reacts to federal interventions in its affairs.

An attempt to enact this legislation could easily cause a split within the UCP, along former PC/ Wild Rose party lines and if passed it could be declared “ultra vires”(acting or done beyond one's legal power or authority) by Alberta’s Lieutenant Governor.

That happened to legislation introduced by Alberta’s Social Credit government in the 1930ies when the powers that be didn’t like what they saw.